Radial Honey Extractor R5 SAF

01 · THE RADIUS RULES: SHALLOW ONLY

And it follows from its own measurements

The drum is 380 mm across, that is 190 mm of radius. In a radial, the height of the frame lies along that radius, so only a shallow frame goes in; a Dadant brood frame, 27 cm tall, does not fit at all.

The 550 mm of drum height are what let the frame stand on its long side. It is not a catalogue limitation: it is geometry, and that is why it is worth being clear that this extractor works supers, not brood chambers.

02 · 5 FRAMES ARE NOT 5 HIVES

The sum to do beforehand

A full shallow super carries eight or ten frames, so emptying one super is two cycles of this extractor. With five hives and one super each, the afternoon is ten turns at the crank.

That said, for that size of apiary it is exactly the right tool: below it, an electric extractor never pays for itself; above it, the crank stops being an anecdote. The advice to start slowly and build up speed is not filler — with new or warm comb, going fast from the start wrecks it.

03 · 39 CM FROM FLOOR TO TAP

The measurement that decides what goes underneath

The legs put the tap 390 mm above the floor, so an ordinary bucket goes under without lifting the machine. At 1,060 mm of overall height and 13 kg, it is a piece you move on your own and store anywhere.

The tap is 40 mm plastic — the usual calibre of the honey line — with a stainless coupling. That is where this range trims the price, and it is worth knowing: the drum and the conical floor are AISI 304, the tap is not.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The extractor for a first apiary, with its limit properly stated.